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Knicks Practice 2009 - Some Positives

Posted on Tuesday, July 14, 2009 at 10:20 AM
by: [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]
Tagged as: [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] , [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] , [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] , [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

I did get a little sleep, and then hit the gym Sunday morning.

At the hotel gym, working out super hard, was Toronto Raptors Prez & GM, [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]. The Canadians staying at our hotel found him, and were quickly pounding him with questions about Bosh and Hedo. Let the guy do his crunches! When we said hello, I told him I'd see him later in the week to talk basketball. I think he appreciated that.
Jessica (Camerato, you met her on [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]) and I took a walk down the Strip, browsed through the high end shops at the new [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] and debated whether to take a Gondola Ride at the [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]. But we didn't. Instead, we bought a million bottles of water at Walgreens to take back to our rooms. (Glamorous, right?!) It's been tough to stay hydrated; it's been averaging about 107 degrees here during the day.
After catching a few rays at the pool, and doing some very entertaining people watching, it was time to get to work. At 4:30 p.m. local time, I took the Knicks team bus to their second practice of the day. And on my way to the bus, I nearly barreled over a man named [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]. You may have heard of him.
The Knicks are practicing at Valley High School, home of the Vikings and future Baseball Hall of Famer, Greg Maddux. [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] is coaching the [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] and was barking out orders to the players the minute we walked in. Of course, Head Coach [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] is here, watching every move, play, jumper and block, and is closely evaluating his future players alongside Donnie Walsh during each of these practices.
Look, I'm no photographer, but here's an EXCLUSIVE look at the Knicks Summer League team in action at practice. I promise, [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] was there, and looks about 20 lbs. slimmer. Hey, he's a big guy no matter how you slice it, but he was moving well during drills and full-court plays. Curry didn't participate in the full-contact scrimmage, but he was running the court with more ease and still has his touch around the rim. You will hear from him on [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] on Tuesday, July 14th vs. the Memphis Grizzlies.[Only registered and activated users can see links. ] is in town for a few days. He worked out in the morning, and watched the afternoon practice. It was great to see Jared. The guy is funny. First, we chatted about Michael Jackson's death, and Jared is devastated; he had tickets to one of the MJ concerts in London at the O2 Arena. Jared said he got a refund, but is still in shock because he was such a big fan and had seen Michael in concert many times before.
Now to basketball ... Jeffries tells me he's incorporated swimming into his off-court workouts. He's ready to take on Michael Phelps. He also is thrilled about the Knicks drafting [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] and [Only registered and activated users can see links. ], saying they are both extremely talented with exceptional basketball skills. Jared was most impressed with Douglas' speed, and Hill's aggressiveness, especially the way he has been going after it in practice with a lot of energy and passion. I agreed with Jeffries, as today was the first time I saw the two play in person.
What was also promising was the way Danilo Gallinari was moving on the court. While Gallo didn't participate in 5-on-5 full-court / full-contact scrimmages, he did all the other drills with the team. He's running faster than before the back surgery, and his jump shot is fluid and showing consistency. (Gallinari is the Orange blur in some of my pictures. In fact, he's coming down from a dunk here as Jordan Hill and Coach D'Antoni look on.) Coach Weber says he's very encouraged after watching Gallo the last couple of days.
By the way, did I mention that Newsday Knicks beat writer, Alan Hahn and I discussed his Power 90 X training and my marathon training for the first 20 minutes of practice? (Hey, it's summer league.)
Big plans for Monday: after practice, I'm meeting the two rookie draft picks for lunch at the [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]. I hope to help the fans "get to know" Jordan Hilland Toney Douglas as we chat over some grub with the cameras rolling. I'll update you after the interview, but you'll be able to see the final product during halftime of game 1 on Tuesday!
Nothing fancy for dinner again Sunday night, just some soup and a salad from the Café in the Hotel lobby.
Blog is done ... [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]. And if you've been to Vegas, you know what I'm talking about.

Wow some real positives here, especially about Gallo, Curry and the picks

Is that Curry in the middle there with the white t-shirt and orange sleeves? If so he looks like Dikembe Mutombo!!!!

I like the progress of Gallinari especially after that back surgery and also like the looks of the new picks. However, I think Eddy Curry was never a good player. He never proved or showed to us that he can be a huge impact in the paint.

Listen guys we have plenty of players that can score. We need some defense.

Far far away from the orgy that consist of clyde, 8's, rady, smokes and rono

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Originally Posted by AlboKnickFan

I like the progress of Gallinari especially after that back surgery and also like the looks of the new picks. However, I think Eddy Curry was never a good player. He never proved or showed to us that he can be a huge impact in the paint.

Listen guys we have plenty of players that can score. We need some defense.

We actually dont have a lot of scorers.

Besides Harrington and Gallo, and Douglas who was a high scorer in Florida State.